


COTRA

by AwkwardPatotee



Category: Supernatural, destiel - Fandom
Genre: A Lot of Death, AU Destiel - Freeform, Alternate Universe, Angst, Angst and Tragedy, Apocalypse, Blood, Bottom Dean, COTRA, Character Death, Cure, Dean x Castiel - Freeform, Death, Destiel - Freeform, F/M, Fluff, Forsaking the light, I repeat, M/M, Minor Original Character(s), Smut, Suffering Castiel, Suffering Dean, Supernatural - Freeform, Top Castiel, Top Castiel/Bottom Dean Winchester, Violence, castiel as chemist, dean as soldier, if you hate angst, stay away, this is not a nice story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-05
Updated: 2017-06-05
Packaged: 2018-11-09 08:57:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11101212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AwkwardPatotee/pseuds/AwkwardPatotee
Summary: For years a team of chemist entrepreneurs had been working on the creation of a new chemical gas which was said to be able to cure cancer. The name of this new drug was called Cordafine Trazogen or short "COTRA". One of the chemist entrepreneurs on this team was Castiel Novak, a simple man living a simple life. He was one the persons who made it possible in the end for the chemical to work and therefore found himself drowning in attention he hadn't expected. Bi since he got all the credit for creating this new drug he was also the one who got all of the blame when suddenly it turned out that the chemical doesn't only kill the sick cells but also the healthy ones; which made it the newest and most horrifying virus the human population had ever seen. In Castiel's search fora cure he meets the stubborn and cynical soldier, Dean Winchester, whose only mission is to protect his little brother Sam. The world is ending and suddenly Castiel finds himself in shit to his knees without any hope for life on this planet to survive.





	1. How It All Started

The day was 16th of June when Castiel had the biggest breakthrough of his whole career. Maybe even of his whole life. 

Castiel had worked so hard for this moment, he remembered thinking about what should happen next. How could he possibly ever top such a discovery, which could perhaps change the world? Castiel had went through high school being known as the chemist nerd – which he wasn’t actually that displeased about being called – and he carried the name with him through college and university. He wasn’t ashamed of being known as the guy who loved chemistry, in fact he felt a little proud about it. And even though he might now have that many friends, the ones he had was all that he needed. 

He met both Caitlyn and Even at university where they all studied chemistry together. They were just like him and he finally felt like he could unfold the nerd within him when he was with them. When he thought about those times with Caitlyn and Even he couldn’t help but bring a smile to his lips. He never would have imagined what those three could accomplish one day, but here he was with them by his side as they all had created maybe the most powerful and precise chemical weapon against diseases together. They named the new drug Cordafine Trazogen, or in short COTRA. This new drug was capable of finding the sick cells in the body, thereafter plant itself on the cell which in the end would eat up and kill the cell. 

His mom and dad were also finally able to say that they were proud of him. Sure, they had been proud of him when he had gotten all A’s in high school and when he got a scholarship for his hard work, but they had always seemed to be able to find something he could do better. But finally, he made them shut their mouths and accept that maybe he actually had done a great job. Then there were his three brothers, all older than him. They had all different opinions about his work but the shared estimation was that he had done a great job. They had all been very close when they were younger but as they grew up and started to develop their own opinions and views on different things they started to give each other more space. Not meaning that they didn’t talk anymore or something like that, they just never discussed their work as it would most likely start an intense debate. 

Now Castiel was 37 years and had completed his most complicated peace of product; what should he do now? He had no wife and no kids. He lived alone in a small apartment and he knew none of his neighbours. So yeah, he had succeeded at his work but he felt like he had failed everything else in life.


	2. Breaking Through

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!!  
> Thanks for reading my story, I aprecciate it a lot
> 
> Please just remember, that since I'm danish and therefore normally doesn't talk english, there might be a few grammar fails.  
> Let me know if I fucked up pretty badly :P
> 
> Also, let me know what you think so far;  
> I love critisicm as long as it's something I can use for future work, so bring it on
> 
> Other than that I just want to say, have fun reading this chapter

Castiel had never thought that he one day would see his own name in the papers, but sitting at the morning table, drinking a cup of coffee, and reading about his own discovery was probably one of the best feelings he could think of. Him, Caitlyn and Even were all standing side by side while holding a paper with the test results on, all smiling proudly at their work. Castiel snapped a picture of the article with his phone and send it to Cailyn and Even. 

“Can you believe this, guys?” He sent with the picture. Even though it was a little over a week ago the world found out about their discovery, he still couldn’t believe how excited the media seemed to be. Soon he received two text messages, both exclaiming the pride they felt about their work.

Castiel glanced at the clock and started to get ready for work. He had a little leather handbag to his computer and whatever files he might would need to take home. Everything he else would need was at his work. He loved being at the lab, but besides the lab he would also write reports in his office, where he would also keep track of the results of the tests he would do, plus making sure he had done all of the calculations correctly. He always thought of how it was better to be safe than sorry and therefore wouldn’t mind going over the same experiment several times before being sure of the procedure and the results. It was very important for him that all of the data responded correctly to each other. 

Castiel reached the hospital in which the lab for his experiments were. It was also at this hospital the patients on which they had tested the new chemical were staying. In the several past weeks, he had gone on a round every day to check up on the patients and make sure they were all right. They had of course made a numerous number of tests on animals before they started doing it on humans, but all of the tests on the animals had been positive, so Castiel really didn’t think there were anything to be concerned about.  
Charlie Bradbury greeted him when he arrived. Charlie was a redhaired small but strong woman, who worked at the lab. She had the function of being kind of a supervisor to Castiel’s group’s experiments; making sure that everything went after the protocol. She had also been assigned for checking up on all of their test results and overall just keeping an eye on their work. Castiel had formed a rather great relationship to her, since they had worked so much together for the past months. She was a nice woman, you should just know when to talk and when to shut up. Besides that, she was very professional and cared a lot about the work being done correctly. Especially since they started doing tests on humans. 

“‘morning Novak,” she smiled and pulled up a paper from a brown map she had been holding. Castiel nodded as a hello. They started walking towards his office where he would meet up with Caitlyn and Even before they moved towards the lab. “I have the statistics over yesterday’s results. ‘Gotta say, it’s looking good.” She handed him the paper, which Castiel grabbed and quickly scanned. A smile formed on his lips. 

Caitlyn and Even were already standing beside the door to his office, discussing something Castiel couldn’t hear. They smiled at him before they all wished each other a good morning. Castiel thereafter showed them the paper. “83% has shown signs of getting healthier since the last doses,” both Caitlyn and Even lifted their eyebrows and smiled while reading through the numbers. Even nodded. “This is good. This is really good, guys”. 

They went about their day; Caitlyn was in a project of transforming the chemical from gas to a solid form. If that was possible it would be much easier to give it to the patients. At the moment, they would get it through a mask, inhaling the chemical. The doctors would have to be careful to hit the exact amount of dose, the patients would need, and if they maybe could give the patients the medicine orally or directly into the veins it would be so much easier. Even was also very busy with keeping track of the tests already made. They had a lot of data left to calculate on, and make usable in their reports. For Castiel it was time for his walk around to the different patients. Of course, he didn’t have time to visit all of them, but he had a few who had agreed on being part of a small interview a few times a week. 

His day went on nice and quietly. The patients were, giving the circumstances, all doing great. The drug worked as it should and the tests couldn’t look better. Castiel felt at ease and caught himself a couple of times wearing a small discrete smile. He went back to his office after the interviews with the patients to write down their statements, their status and make a journal about their test results. Even brought Castiel a cup of coffee around noon and they had a small talk about whatever they could seem to think about. It was a very peaceful day and they both seemed to be in a joyful mood. “After work, we really should hit a bar or something. To celebrate” Even suggested. Castiel grinned. “Sounds like a plan” he took another sip of his coffee. 

Around the afternoon Castiel had done whatever paper work needed to be done that day and headed out for the lab. This was his favourite part of the day. As excited as he used to be, he put on a lab coat and gloves and entered the lab, where he found Caitlyn leaned focused over a microscope. She took a few notes on a piece of paper and then replaced the slide with another one. Castiel caught her attention and she happily greeted him before returning to her project. Castiel was curious about how far she had gotten with her experiment and if it even would be possible, but since she was so focused he wouldn’t want to interrupt her. Only Charlie seemed not to care about that as she loudly entered the lab, wearing a half open lab coat and no gloves. Her face was deadly serious. Castiel’s own heartbeat increased its pace just by the look of Charlie’s expression. 

“What’s wrong?” he asked, without first saying hi. Caitlyn stopped her focused job with the microscope and instead both seriously and curiously turned around to face Charlie. 

“Something’s happened to the lab rats” Charlie answered, stretching out her hand which held a piece of paper. Castiel took the paper and quickly read the different numbers and words filling out a timetable. He wrinkled his brows in confusion. 

“What is this?” He asked. Caitlyn, who had looked at the paper from over his shoulder, grabbed the paper out of his hands and read it closely. Her brows wrinkling as well.  
Charlie looked at Castiel both with fear and confusion streaming out of her face. 

“It’s the numbers for today’s tests. The rats should’ve been, after the calculations, completely free of ill cells by now, but something changed overnight. Three rats are dead so far, which I know is nothing, but almost 10% of the others are very sick. They won’t eat or drink. They don’t even react to loud sounds or different smells anymore. It’s just like they’re wasting away” 

Castiel tried to get rid of the lump which had manifested in his throat, but nothing helped. Caitlyn was done reading the paper and looked with fear at Charlie.

“What do we do?” Her voice a bit shaky. Charlie said nothing. 

Castiel turned around, looking around the lab. Maybe something would come to mind, maybe he could find some inspiration in the lab. He had to think rationally. 

“10% is a lot, we know that. But we need to find out what made them this ill. Nothing on this paper indicates it was the drug. Maybe they’ve been exposed to some other kind of virus, that we don’t know about” Castiel suggested. He faced the women again. He could tell that Charlie didn’t buy it, while Caitlyn helplessly shook her head.

“Even if it wasn’t COTRA which caused this, the drug should still have been able to cure them,” she concluded. Castiel already knew this, he just didn’t want to face the truth. 

“Okay, uhm...” Castiel needed to think. What could they do? “Do you have any of the tests of the rats today with you? We need to find out what made them this sick and we need to find a solution so we can cure them. This is not going to look good on the journals”

Soon they were all busy investigating what had gone wrong. They had contacted Even who was on his way to the rats, so he could collect some more data about them. There were constantly people in the lab, so they could control everything about the rats at all times of the day. Even though this system had seemed to fail this time. Soon they were all gathered in the lab doing their own work in trying to find a solution as fast as possible. Charlie had to report the mistake to her own supervisors. From here they all got a clear message about keeping quiet about this until they’ve figured out a solution. A threat about losing their job was the last thing they heard before the line got cut from the other side. 

But how could this have happened? They had tested COTRA on a massive number of rats before trying it out on bigger animals. And all of the animals had shown positive signs right away. 

Suddenly a gasp could be heard throughout the small lab, making them all look at Even who was the owner of the gasp. He looked with big eyes at the others. 

“Guys, I think I might have found an answer…” 

He sounded frightened and insecure. The others quickly gathered around him as he stood up from his chair. 

“You know how we conduct research in living cells, right?” he cleared his throat. “Well, I thought that since COTRA is a drug which is working with living cells it would maybe be a good idea to look at the rat’s cells first, right?” Again, clearing his throat. Castiel nodded to encourage him to go on. “Well, as it seems right now – I’m not completely sure, though – it looks like COTRA starts out with attacking the sick cells. You know how this works, like the drug kind of eats the sick cells” Even looked at the others, talking faster as he noticed their impatient expressions. “But once it’s done eating the sick cells, it keeps feeding at the healthy ones”. 

“What the hell are you saying?” Caitlyn exclaimed.

“It looks like the drug, after eating the sick cells as we wanted it to do, starts eating at the healthy ones. It also looks like these are easier for it to break down, as they’re a lot less tough than the sick cells, which we created it to be strong enough for” Even explained.

“How do we stop it?” Castiel asked, not hiding his nervousness. Even shook his head.

“Since it’s not a virus or an illness, other kinds of chemicals can’t fight it. It’s a strong drug we’ve created, therefore we would have to invent something even stronger. But this would also kill the healthy cells and therefore the human, so we would just create a bad circle” Even informed. 

Everyone got quiet at this information. They’d fucked up. And they’d fucked up pretty bad, Castiel would say.


	3. Lost Vision

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys :))
> 
> I just wanna thank you for all the kudos already, it warms my heart.  
> Please, leave a comment to let me know what you think, that would make me very happy!
> 
> Enjoy the chapter

Increasingly more rats were dying faster and faster. Castiel was about to go insane. The death rate was at the moment at 53% of all the rats they tested COTRA on, and the numbers were still increasing. He couldn’t sleep or eat or even think about anything else than his job. He needed to find a solution and preferably before noon. The medias had gotten a hint of what was going on with COTRA and had started writing about him and his group of friends again, but this time they used a slightly different tone. Castiel had even been asked if he wanted to participate in an interview by a few magazines but he had declined them all, saying that he was too busy at the moment. Unfortunately, this didn’t help the reputation, which had spread about them. He got death stares when he walked to work in the morning and he had even tried that some guy came up to him and showered him in insults, making Castiel almost cry. He had been so shocked and embarrassed about the whole incident, that he didn’t dare to look, anyone he passed in the streets, in the eyes ever again. But this wasn’t the worst that had happened to him. The absolutely worst and horrifying fact was, that the negative signs of COTRA had started to show in some of the humans. He had made his usual round at the hospital when he started to notice a pattern with some of the patients. They had started to lose their appetite, and started to feel gradually drowsier. Their nurses had also reported incidents where patients had forgotten their name or age, and even had woken up without remembering why they were lying in a hospital bed. 

Castiel couldn’t remember the last time he cried, but the day he saw those results he locked himself in his office and let go. He didn’t sob or whine, he just let the tears stream down his face while he sat helplessly at his desk, not being able to stop what he had started. After that he had put on a mask, so he didn’t risk to breakdown in front of his co-workers. He knew they felt the same way as he did, but they never talked about it. The guilt was too big within them all, to even put words on how they felt. They just kept working. That’s all they could really. 

Castiel had also started to sleep at his office. It was maybe not as comfortable as his bed, but it was more practical. He slept in a sleeping bag on the floor, using and old shirt as a pillow. Besides he didn’t sleep that much anyhow, so why spend a lot of time on getting home, and even risk another encounter with a stranger like he had already tried, when Castiel could just stay at his office and work on an antidote for COTRA as long as he wanted. He wasn’t paid by the hour so he knew that his superiors wouldn’t mind. When he had done it a few times, Even started to follow his example, sleeping at his own office. It worked. They stayed and worked together for hours after they should’ve gone home, and got up in morning together, getting ready for a new day. 

Even was like a brother to Castiel, he came to think one day. Even was one of those few people who had been by Castiel’s side since they were very young and full of hope. Even was a scrawny not very intimidating looking man, but he had managed to look out for Cas ever since they met in high school. Even and Caitlyn were friends before they met Cas so in that way they maybe had a few more things in common, than with Castiel but he had never felt like third wheel. They both were very accepting of Castiel and they had all formed a small chemistry group where they would also tutor other kids, when they grew older. Cas had really enjoyed doing project and experiments with his friends, which was also one of the reasons for them to end up choosing the same career and work place. 

Some mumbling and loud noises grabbed Castiel’s attention and made him get out of his train of thoughts. He had been laying in his sleeping bag once again with a bit of trouble falling asleep. The noises appeared again and it seemed like Even was upset about something. Castiel raised his head trying to figure out if he should go check on Even or wait to here if someone was with him. Some new noises hit his ear but they all sounded like Even’s voice, therefore he most likely was alone. Castiel lifted himself up from the floor and got out of the sleeping bag. He stumbled out of his office, making sure that no one saw him straddling around his work place wearing pyjamas pants and a t-shirt. A quick peek in to Even’s office told Castiel that his friend was alone. But, still Even kept talking. Castiel figured out that Even probably was a sleep talker, since he was laying in his sleeping bag talking to what seemed like his desk’s leg. 

Castiel couldn’t understand what Even was talking about and actually found it quite amusing. A small smile formed at the corner of his lips. 

“What are you talking about, buddy?” Castiel asked in a light tone, wondering if Even would answer. Nothing but gibberish came out of the man’s mouth but Castiel still couldn’t help but laugh silently. A grunt came from Even’s mouth and then his eyes startled open. 

“Cas?” He asked when he realized a guy was watching him. Castiel blushed a little at being caught. 

“You were sleep talking,” he explained, so maybe Even wouldn’t think of him being a creep more than he already did. Some more gibberish came out of Even’s mouth and Castiel realized he still wasn’t entirely awake. He rolled around and pressed the other of face down against the floor. 

“What?” Castiel asked, not afraid to wake him up anymore. 

“I promised you,” Even answered, sounding a bit confusing since his mouth was pressed against the sleeping bag. 

“What?” Castiel once again asked at the confusing answer he got. 

“I promised you to get that beer. When we are done I will find the nearest bar and give you that beer. I promise” Even talked slowly, still with the mouth pressed against the sleeping bag, but Castiel managed to understand each word that left his mouth. 

 

The next day wasn’t any different from the rest. Castiel and Even got up before anyone else started getting to work. Today was one of those days where he was supposed to take another round and interviewing the patients but his stomach tied a knot around itself just by thought of facing the people he most likely had spread a dangerous virus within. But since the humans were the most important part of his job he needed to collect all the data he could. Before too much time had passed and the chances of getting the situation under control wasn’t absolutely gone. 

However, even though he had prepared himself for the sight of sick people, which he was to blame for, nothing had prepared him for the sight which hit him when he entered the floor that morning. It seemed like chaos had spread panic all around the floor. Nurses flew back and forth between rooms, while wearing masks. Doctors walked past Castiel, all wearing the masks and a concerned face, rushing to their next patient. A nurse quickly greeted him and held out a mask for him too. 

“What’s happened?” He asked with a voice full of concern. 

“There was an outbreak through the night. Four patients are in intensive care, doctors have been operating on them all morning but it seems like their whole system is shutting down,” the nurse explained, guiding Castiel down through the hall, while he put on the mask. A lump formed in his throat. 

“But why the masks?” He asked. The nurse turned around and looked concerned at him. He noticed that beside the mask she was also wearing gloves. 

“We believe the ‘virus’ is contagious. Only this noon two patients came in with the same symptoms as the patients we have on this floor. They were both related and had visited someone who was given COTRA, so we didn’t want to take any chances.” Castiel once again tried to swallow lump in his throat. 

“But COTRA is not contagious. I mean, it shouldn’t be. We never designed it to be,” he ran a hand through his hair. The nurse shrugged. 

“It seems like the cells infected with COTRA can spread it through touch. If someone who’s been given COTRA kiss, hug or even just touch another person with a sweaty hand, it could possibly be spread on to the next person, and so on,” the nurse explained, leaving Castiel pale and weak in his knees. 

“We tested the patients who came in this morning, you know, taking tests of their blood and tissue, going through their cells. Results should be here by tonight, so until then, don’t worry,” she could clearly see how nervous and at unease Castiel was. She laid a hand on his arm to reassure that it would be okay, before she smiled, nodded, and left him. He figured that it was best if he left the floor and kept himself out of the doctor’s way. Also, he would never admit it, but a tiny part of him was scared to death of getting infected.


End file.
